


Ambiance

by luvsanime02



Series: Cocktail Friday Fics [134]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Cocktail Friday, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: Zechs and Noin attend a party and toast the dead.
Series: Cocktail Friday Fics [134]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/864484
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: GW Cockatil Fridays





	Ambiance

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the October 30th Cocktail Party prompt found here: https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/632866029578731520/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-october.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Gundam Wing and am making no money off of this fic.

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**Ambiance** by luvsanime02

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Zechs tries not to look too forlornly at his smoking glass of Negroni. Judging from the amused look Noin is giving him, he’s failing at keeping his disappointment to himself, so he indulges in a small sigh.

“Really?” Noin asks him. “It’ll dissipate soon.”

“I understand the whole ambiance,” Zechs says, waving a hand idly around the room at all of the Halloween decorations on display. Tasteful ones, at least, but Zechs does think that perhaps the whole effect is a little overboard. Such as the dry ice still billowing from his glass.

Noin sips her own drink carefully. It’s some hideous lime green concoction that Zechs wouldn’t ever voluntarily consume, but she seems pleased with it. More importantly, she’s demonstrating how her drink is perfectly dry ice-free now.

“I just don’t understand why they had to play around with the drinks,” Zechs says, refusing to be deterred by common sense. It’s true that his drink will be perfectly consumable in just a few more minutes, but Zechs wants it now.

“It’s fun,” Noin replies, “and I’d keep that opinion quiet.” It’s just a slight shift of her shoulder, but Zechs understands the gesture for what it is, and carefully looks at some of the bottles behind the bar. The glass of the bottles is reflecting pieces of the room behind him, and sure enough, Zechs sees Une walking up to them.

Noin’s right. As much as Zechs is annoyed by the drinks, he doesn’t feel like deliberately upsetting Une tonight during her party. Deliberately, because it seems like they upset each other without even trying, most days. Sometimes, Zechs is sure that his very presence angers Une.

“Everything going well?” Une asks when she reaches them. It’s said in the same polite tone that a waiter would ask at a restaurant, but the sharpness in her gaze tells a different story.

“Well enough,” Zechs says, trying for an aimable enough tone. Judging by the way Une’s lips press tighter together, Zechs has obviously failed at the aimable part. This time, his sigh is carefully suppressed. Heaven knows how Une would interpret that.

“I think the whole thing’s going rather well,” Noin says softly, like she doesn’t find the tension between them the funniest thing ever. She does. She’s just really good at hiding it.

Une nods at Noin, a softened look coming into her eyes when she turns her attention onto the other woman. Zechs tries and fails not to feel a little bit envious. It’s not like Zechs wants Une to look at  _ him _ like that. He wouldn’t even know how to respond if she ever looked at him with anything less than caution. Still, it must be nice not to be disliked for merely existing.

“There were a few last-minute issues with the music,” Une admits to Noin. “Some of the speakers weren’t connecting to the others, and I don’t think anyone ever figured out why or how exactly it got fixed, but it worked out in the end.”

“I like it,” Noin assures her. “Really adds to the atmosphere.” She’s right, and Zechs would say so, too, but he finds that saying as little as possible is usually the best way to go between him and Une. He’s actually surprised that she spoke to him directly at all, instead of ignoring him entirely.

Instead, seeing that the dry ice has finally dissipated from his drink, Zechs picks it up and takes a sip. At least the dry ice keeps the drink chilled, and now Zechs can enjoy himself a little bit more. As soon as Une wanders away again, of course.

On cue, Une looks around the room and nods at Noin. “I’ll see you later,” she says. “Glad you’re enjoying the party.” Her eyes cut to Zechs at that last bit, like she’s sure that he’s not, and then she finally leaves.

Noin stifles a laugh into her hand, and Zechs shoots her an exasperated look. “That never gets old,” she says shamelessly.

“Speak for yourself,” Zechs mutters, swallowing some more of his drink.

“I just did,” Noin shoots back, still looking far too amused for comfort. “You’re both ridiculous.”

Probably, Zechs thinks, though he knows better than to concede the point out loud. “I did nothing,” he protests mildly.

“Except sit there stiffly like a corpse and barely say two words,” Noin shoots back, showing no mercy. Not that she ever does.

“Well, then I fit right in with the rest of the place,” Zechs retorts, though he’s not sure that he appreciates the comparison.

This time, Noin doesn’t bother to stifle her laughter, and Zechs feels himself relax at the sound. Now that the obligatory awkwardness between him and Une is over with, Zechs can relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.

“To the dead,” Noin says, raising her glass. It’s funny and awful - a perfect moment between humorous and somber. Both serious and not.

Zechs raises his glass in kind, smirking so that he doesn’t grimace. “To the dead,” he says, and finishes his drink after clinking their glasses together. It’s a fitting toast, and also completely inappropriate, and Zechs muses on the one ghost haunting their steps even now as he gets the bartender’s attention for another drink.

Two drinks, because after all, the dead deserve an offering, too. The second glass will sit untouched beside them for the rest of the night, and Zechs doesn’t even care what Une will think of it later. For now, he lets all thoughts of ghosts slowly dissipate like the dry ice in his new drink, until only the chill remains.


End file.
